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1. What we talk about when we talk about colors

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2109237118  

   Twomey, Colin R. ; Roberts, Gareth ; Brainard, David H. ; Plotkin, Joshua B. ( September 2021 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Names for colors vary widely across languages, but color categories are remarkably consistent. Shared mechanisms of color perception help explain consistent partitions of visible light into discrete color vocabularies. But the mappings from colors to words are not identical across languages, which may reflect communicative needs—how often speakers must refer to objects of different color. Here we quantify the communicative needs of colors in 130 different languages by developing an inference algorithm for this problem. We find that communicative needs are not uniform: Some regions of color space exhibit 30-fold greater demand for communication than other regions. The regions of greatest demand correlate with the colors of salient objects, including ripe fruits in primate diets. Our analysis also reveals a hidden diversity in the communicative needs of colors across different languages, which is partly explained by differences in geographic location and the local biogeography of linguistic communities. Accounting for language-specific, nonuniform communicative needs improves predictions for how a language maps colors to words, and how these mappings vary across languages. Our account closes an important gap in the compression theory of color naming, while opening directions to study cross-cultural variation in the need to communicate different colors and its impact on the cultural evolution of color categories. 

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2. RESPECT 2019: Yes, We Still Need to Talk About Diversity in Computing

   https://doi.org/10.1109/MCSE.2018.2887008  

   Washington, Nicki ; Barnes, Tiffany ; Payton, Jamie ; Dunton, Sarah ; Stukes, Felesia ; Peterfreund, Alan ( January 2019 , Computing in Science & Engineering)
3. Women in Open Source: We Need to Talk About It

   https://doi.org/10.1109/MC.2022.3200860  

   Trinkenreich, Bianca ; Gerosa, Marco Aurelio ; Steinmacher, Igor ( December 2022 , Computer)
4. Are we moving towards equity in science talk? Evaluating timing and positioning of talk moves

   Morandi, S. ; Southerland, S. ( January 2023 , National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual Meeting 2023)

   Within the science education reform movement, there have been long standing calls initiated to attend to equity in the science classroom. These calls are sought to de-settle and advance the broad strokes of “equity for all” into deeper, more meaningful actions, considering the way we view equity and how equitable practices unfold in the classroom. Productive science discourse or productive science talk is just one instructional practice used and discussed which leverages students as sensemakers. This study seeks to better understand productive science talk as a practice of equitation instruction. In examining Ms. Savannah’s practice, a high school biology teacher, two major findings emerged around the use of productive talk: (1) pattern of moves to leverage student ideas and (2) timing of moves to stimulate interest or motivation. These talk moves and timing gave insight into talk as both having the ability to hinder and foster student ideas and provide an initial “on-ramp” for students’ voice to be heard, taken up and have accountability in the classroom. This work continues to sustain a call toward attention to equity and a need to evaluate the equity-aligned practices that are fore-fronted in PDs and workshops. 

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5. Let's Talk about Sext: How Adolescents Seek Support and Advice about Their Online Sexual Experiences

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376400  

   Razi, Afsaneh ; Badillo-Urquiola, Karla ; Wisniewski, Pamela J. ( April 2020 , Let’s Talk about Sext: How Teens Seek Support and Advice for Online Sexual Interactions)

   We conducted a thematic content analysis of 4,180 posts by adolescents (ages 12-17) on an online peer support mental health forum to understand what and how adolescents talk about their online sexual interactions. Youth used the platform to seek support (83%), connect with others (15%), and give advice (5%) about sexting, their sexual orientation, sexual abuse, and explicit content. Females often received unwanted nudes from strangers and struggled with how to turn down sexting requests from people they knew. Meanwhile, others who sought support complained that they received unwanted sexual solicitations while doing so—to the point that adolescents gave advice to one another on which users to stay away from. Our research provides insight into the online sexual experiences of adolescents and how they seek support around these issues. We discuss how to design peer-based social media platforms to support the well-being and safety of youth. 

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